Chapter 146: Long Live the Hydra! (Early Dawn—Thank You All for Your Support)

With the two Leviathans gone, the pressure on the U.S. military immediately eased by more than half.

The aerial battle between American warplanes and the Cittari soldiers piloting shuttles continued unabated. Unless the portal was closed, the fight would not cease.

The nine-meter-tall War God slowly descended onto the central plaza of Building Five.

The President of the United States personally arrived with the Secretary of Defense and a group of aides, braving the risk of being struck by the warplanes flying overhead, to welcome him.

“Apostle, you are a hero to the American people. You have not only saved us but also humanity itself! I believe I should—”

Before the President could finish, the War God raised his massive hand to interrupt him. “Mr. President, this place is dangerous. I recommend an immediate evacuation of Building Five. In five minutes, I will bomb this location.”

“Bomb… bomb?” The President looked stunned, thinking he must have misheard. “You mean Building Five?”

“Yes, Mr. President. I am one hundred percent certain that a highest-threat-level Cittari agent has infiltrated this building. I have evidence that he intends to detonate an antimatter bomb here. If he succeeds, half of America will cease to exist.”

“W-what did you say!?”

Hearing this, not only the President but also the Secretary of Defense and the aides were utterly shocked.

An antimatter bomb!?

They were not fools; they understood exactly what that meant. Though no nation on Earth had the technology to create one, in theory, its destructive power was indeed enough to obliterate half of America, or even the entire country, as the Apostle had said.

“How could this happen…” the President muttered in disbelief.

For a moment, the dignitaries were all at a loss.

They did not doubt Luke's words, for there was no reason for the Apostle to deceive them on such a critical matter.

That meant, at this very moment, an alien agent intent on mutual destruction was preparing to execute a decapitation strike here!

“Quick! Contact the helicopters immediately and dispatch two squadrons for escort. We must leave now!” the Secretary of Defense ordered without hesitation.

“Where can we go…” the President despondently murmured.

He suspected he might be the unluckiest President in American history—perhaps even the last—if that antimatter bomb detonated.

The Secretary of Defense looked up at the towering War God, his expression complex. “We can only run as far away as possible. This place is in his hands now…”

Faced with a life-threatening crisis, the usual bureaucratic delays vanished. They hurriedly boarded helicopters, escorted by over a dozen F-22s, flying towards the West Coast.

“The hen’s out of the coop now…” Luke thought, surprised that a few words had won their trust so easily. That so-called antimatter bomb—it was all genius on his part!

“Well done, Luke! Let’s blow this place to kingdom come! Mwahaha!” Lotus excitedly perched atop Luke’s head, his eight little legs twitching on Luke’s forehead.

Since the location was no longer a defensive target, nearby U.S. forces had begun to withdraw.

The War God hovered high above Building Five, at two hundred meters, then three hundred, five hundred, and finally a thousand meters…

“About time,” Luke thought.

“Justice from the skies!”

A dense barrage of second-generation grenades and third-generation upgraded shells was launched from the War God. Thanks to Christina’s precise targeting calculations, the entire Building Five was seamlessly covered within the blast radius.

Luke waited quietly.

About two minutes later, the bombs finally struck the ground.

First came an intensely brilliant flash of light erupting below. The sky over Washington suddenly blazed as bright as day. Moments later, a deafening rumble, like thunder on a spring night, echoed through the city’s air.

Under the cover of the light, everything below became invisible.

A tangible shockwave radiated from Building Five’s location, spreading with lightning speed. Buildings along a dozen surrounding streets instantly lost their glass simultaneously. Trees along the path were uprooted entirely.

After roughly five more minutes, a blue mushroom cloud expanding thousands of meters began to cool. Luke’s War God stood like a deity treading on clouds.

Twenty minutes later, the blue mushroom cloud started to dissipate, finally revealing the scene below.

Building Five was utterly gone. In its place was a crater over two hundred meters wide and several dozen meters deep, resembling the impact site of a meteorite. The pit appeared sealed by a layer of dazzling blue ice crystals.

The surrounding roads radiated cracks, with blue frost trails extending several blocks before vanishing.

At this moment, Luke was already on his way back to New York.

The mission was complete; the Independence Day gift package was in hand. Luke calmly mused, “Avengers 1 should be over now…”

Not long ago, a call came through to Brock Rumlow’s phone at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

“Order: The time has come.”

“Now?”

“Haven’t you seen it too?”

“Yes…”

“Our god has appeared. She needs us to follow her will.”

“Yes.”

“Hail Hydra!”

“Hail Hydra!!”

The sudden uprising of Hydra infiltrators caught Brock completely off guard.

He had planned to deal with these long-term S.H.I.E.L.D. parasites after the war ended. The list contained names that even frightened him. Therefore, he had been cautious.

But Brock never expected events to escalate this rapidly.

Shortly before, when Lotus’s psychic power swept across New York, everyone’s mind projected the image of the tentacled giant beast.

The fear and speculation of ordinary people were irrelevant; what mattered was the reaction of those in the know.

Brock immediately thought of Hydra.

Naturally, Hydra operatives thought the same. Each saw the exact image as the Hydra emblem. No one doubted it was their god. The god they had sought for years had come to them first.

It was time to offer hearts and even lives to their god.

Crossbones led a group of defecting agents, engaging S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives in fierce firefights aboard the spaceborne carrier.

Facing “friends” suddenly shooting their own comrades, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were shocked and enraged. Many died before understanding what was happening.

Except for Brock, who had Luke’s list in advance, even Maria Hill was horrified. She never imagined so many within the agency were enemy infiltrators! Who could she trust now? Her gaze fixed on Brock. At least the director was still trustworthy… right?

Chaos reigned aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. space carrier. Gunfire echoed continuously, mingling with shouts and explosions.

S.H.I.E.L.D. agents desperately tried to prevent Hydra from seizing control of the carrier, but with little success. Hydra had deeply infiltrated nearly every department over the years; members were present in almost every corner.

Only at this moment did Brock and his team truly realize how riddled with holes S.H.I.E.L.D. had become. The irony was that they still considered themselves protectors, yet they could not even protect themselves.

Suddenly, Hill shouted, “Sir! Three fighter jets have taken off from the deck! They’re carrying nuclear warheads!”

“What!?” Brock’s one eye widened in shock.

He stood dumbfounded for a moment, then quickly grabbed his communicator to alert the Avengers: “Warning, three nuclear warheads are heading your way!”

Fury boiled in Brock’s heart. The damned Hydra intended to launch nuclear strikes on New York at this critical moment! He couldn’t think of a better target for a nuclear attack. The Avengers were all in New York; this would wipe them out in one fell swoop…

Just as Luke returned to New York’s airspace, an intense sense of foreboding gripped him.

“Damn, something big is about to happen.”

Rubbing his eyes, he stared at the distant horizon, counting carefully: one, two, three… one, two, three… confirming there were indeed three.

He couldn’t help but curse again, “Damn!!”